Worldwide specific agricultural systems and landscapes have been created,shaped and maintained by generations of farmers and herders based on diverse natural resources using locally adapted management practices.Building on local knowledge and experience these ingenious agricultural systems reflect the evolution of humankind,the diversity of its knowledge and its profound relationship with nature. These systems have resulted not only in outstanding landscapes maintenance and adaptation of globally significant agricultural biodiversity indigenous knowledge systems and resilient ecosystems,but above all, in the sustained provision of multiple goods and services,food and livelihood security and quality of life. However,many of these systems are facing severe threats from various sources including globalization. In 2002 FAO initiated an international partnership initiative:“conservation and adaptive management of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS)”.The global GIAHS initiative aims to establish the basis for the international recognition,dynamic conservation and sustainable management of such systems,agricultural biodiversity and their associated biodiversity knowledge systems,food and livelihood security,landscapes and cultures.

In rural life,everything is connected to everything else.Seen as a complex adaptive system,the "rural" in most regions of the world has evolved over many centuries and is well known to have endured invasive predations and conflicts and to have adapted to changing conditions,both physical and human, many times.Such changes are recorded in the culture and in the landscapes which have continuously evolved and which characterize rural places today.These features of contemporary rural life-economy, culture and landscape-are the key elements of rural systems.Interestingly,they have also become the elements that attract tourists to rural areas.This theoretical paper,starts from the position that the rural world as a whole is complex and that systems adjust in the face of uncertainty,and a type of dynamism that is generated externally in the form of shocks and stresses.Complex Adaptive Systems theory provides an excellent opportunity to examine living systems such as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS)in China that can provide new perspectives on resilience and self-organizing capabilities of the system.The paper suggests that adopting such approaches in contemporary research will produce new insights of whole systems and stem the tide of mainstream scientific research that reduces systems to their component parts and studies them with micro-techniques,while mostly failing to reintegrate the component parts back into the system as a whole.By reviewing this approach in relation to GIAHS and by introducing tourism into the rural village system,as a perturbation,we can create new ways to understand the effects of rural development interventions in ancient landscapes such as those which cover many parts of rural China today.

Traditional agricultural heritage research has a very long history. Programme on “The conservation and adaptive management of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)” initiative launched by FAO in 2002, aimed at not only preserving agricultural heritage system, but also applying the principle of dynamic conservation to promote rural development to benefit local community, to assure food security and maintaining the ecosystem. Since then, many more scientists have been enrolled in the new field focusing on the function and value, application and management, conservation and development and other aspects of these traditional agricultural systems which facilitate an emerging cross-discipline. In this paper, based on the concepts and characteristics of GIAHS and China Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (China-NIAHS), the author specifies that Agri-cultural Heritage is a compound heritage that integrates the characteristics of natural, cultural and intangible cultural heritage, and a typical social-economic-natural complex ecosystem composed of economic, biological, technological, cultural and landscape components. For their conservation and development, the joint efforts of scientists from economics, ecology, geography, history, management sciences, culturology, ethnology, sociology and other subjects are needed. Based on progresses studies and perspectives of the field, the author felt that although a good start of the research on Agri-cultural Heritage has been made, there is still much room for development which show a steady growth trend and suggested 32 priority areas in research; a new subject of Agroheritology could emerge in the near future.

In the early 1990s, China stepped into the stage of rapid urbanization with a flourishing economy and new technological development. Surplus labor from rural areas flooded into cities and became the main force of urban development. However some severe threats to human survival emerged from urbanization, such as over- extensive urban development, excessive resource consumption, ecological degradation, food security and safety risks and social crises. It has become an imperative to balance urban and rural development to achieve greater harmony between nature and society. This paper firstly tried to focus on public dietary change, agricultural industry development, institutional guarantee, ecological restoration, as well as cultural tourism in urban and peri-urban agricultural heritage sites. Then, it established a development model, balanced the urbanization and urban-supported agriculture. This paper proposed “Agricultural heritage systems” as an entry point for balancing the development of urban areas and rural areas. Agricultural heritage systems can inherit local traditional culture, keep the green and organic agriculture cultivation systems, exploit the distinct landscape tourism, and the like for diversified development; In addition, agricultural heritage systems can take full advantage of abundant funds, firm the institutional guarantee and advanced technologies from the nearby urban complex for regurgitation-feeding of rural enterprises. With the help of these strategies, we can achieve the harmony of “Ecological Urban” and “Garden Countryside”.

One of the legacies of the time honored agricultural development in China has been varied farming practices that adapt well to different natural conditions.These old but still functioning farming systems continue to inspire us to find solutions to various environmental problems caused by so-called modern agriculture.This paper reviewed the studies on agricultural heritage in China,including two categories: document-based researches and practice-oriented researches on dynamic conservation and adaptive management of these traditional agricultural heritages.Studies on the history and archaeological findings about the Chinese traditional agricultural heritage have laid a solid foundation for any further study. Dynamic conservation and adaptive management of agricultural heritage was promoted by the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS)project initiated by FAO in 2002.Until now,researches on the conservation and adaptive management of agricultural heritages have touched on many aspects of the issue,including theoretical consideration of agricultural heritage,agrobiodiversity characteristics of agricultural heritage,multi-values of agricultural heritage dynamic conservation,substitutive industries, legislation and institutionalization for the conservation of agricultural heritage.We conclude the paper with an agenda for future studies on agricultural heritages,including the broadening of the research scope,innovative research methodologies and methods and the development of strategies that combine conservation and utilization of agricultural heritages.

Approximately ten years have passed since Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) was introduced to Japan in 2011, with 11 GIAHS sites designated so far. The Japan Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (J-NIAHS), which considers resilience, multi-stakeholder participation and sixth industrialization, was subsequently established in 2016, and has designated 15 J-NIAHS sites. GIAHS sites can be classified into three major types: Landscape, farming method, and genetic resource conservation types, and most Japanese GIAHS sites are of the landscape type. Since there is almost no national subsidy for GIAHS or J-NIAHS, designated sites are expected to secure funding for conservation from their own efforts. For this reason, a voluntary network of the Japanese GIAHS sites has been active in promoting cooperation on GIAHS conservation. The priorities of the Japanese GIAHS have focused on raising public awareness about GIAHS and J-NIAHS, improving livelihoods, as well as fostering the international exchange of experience and knowledge regarding Agricultural Heritage Systems, especially among Japan, China and Korea.

The paper compares the agricultural heritage conservation schemes of China, Japan and Korea and, in particular, the national programs and their implementation under Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). This comparison allows an understanding of the background of developments, designation criteria, application procedures and implementation structures of GIAHS and of the respective domestic programs in terms of the differences in national circumstances of Japan, China and South Korea. The sequence of implementation of GIAHS and the national program differs in each of the three countries. China introduced a national program after GIAHS designation, Japan has GIAHS but no national program, and Korea implemented a national program before its GIAHS designation. Thus GIAHS candidate sites in China and Korea are now selected from among their respective pools of national agricultural heritage sites. On the other hand, commonalities can be seen in the perspectives of the three countries with regards to agricultural heritage conservation through the common emphasis placed on the designation criteria: historical significance, cultural value, fostering partnerships, rural revitalization and biodiversity conservation associated with the agricultural heritage systems etc. Thus, the cooperation between China, Japan and Korea and the perspectives they have will contribute to proposals for improvements to the FAO designation criteria for GIAHS. These will be comprehensively applicable to both developing and developed countries.

In 2012 the Ministry of Agriculture of China launched a project exploring Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (China-NIAHS). Through two rounds of applications and selection in 2012 and 2013, 39 traditional agricultural systems were selected and designated as China-NIAHS, including 19 forestry systems, 14 planting systems, four agricultural complex systems and two other systems. From a system origin perspective there were 24 agricultural systems, some dating back 1000 years. Twenty heritage systems are located in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities. Agricultural heritage systems face general challenges, such as ecosystem degradation and destruction, loss and abandonment of traditional agricultural technologies and landscapes, lagging agriculture scale and industrialization, and limited farmer benefit-sharing and incentives. Compared to other types of heritage, the conservation and development of agricultural heritage systems is more complex and difficult. In order to achieve sustainable development of agricultural heritage systems, the government should play a leading role and improve financial support functions. Local people should also explore market-oriented approaches and adaptive management methods on protection and development of NIAHS. Multi-participation and benefit-sharing mechanisms should be established and basic research needs to be strengthened.

As a new type of heritage, Agricultural Heritage Systems (AHS), represented by Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) designated by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (NIAHS) designated by some countries’ Ministry of Agriculture, are typical Social-Ecological Systems (SES), which usually are rich in biodiversity, traditional knowledge, resource utilization technology and outstanding cultural landscapes. Cultural Keystone Species (CKS) are defined as the culturally salient species that shape the cultural identity of a people in a major way. CKS can be used as a prominent tool for the synergistic conservation of SES biology and culture, and to promote the overall enhancement of system functions. This paper summarizes a review of the definition of the CKS and its application in SES conservation. According to the characteristics and protection needs of AHS, this paper defined the CKS in AHS as: “Composites of biological resources and cultural practices, which have a significant impact on the stability of local society and culture systems, contribute to the achievement of AHS’ conservation goals.” Based on this definition, we analyzed the significance of the identification of CKS in AHS. First of all, CKS help to quickly identify the key elements of AHS. Secondly, CKS can promote community participation in the conservation and development of AHS. In addition, the identification of CKS has a significant role in food and livelihood security, biodiversity conservation, traditional knowledge and technology transmission, social organization maintenance, and cultural landscape maintenance in AHS, which helps to achieve the conservation goals of GIAHS and/or NIAHS.

With the continuous emergence of global development problems, the dynamic conservation and sustainable development of Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS) have been assigned greater importance. However, due to the complex structure, multi-component, dynamic, and open characteristics of IAHS, there are neglected problems which need to be solved in conservation practice, such as component element ambiguity, obscurity of the conservation redline, etc. This study defined the concept of key elements (KE) of IAHS, put forward a conceptual framework of KE identification, conducted empirical research by taking Honghe County of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces System (HHRTS) as an example and analyzed the level of recognition motivations for different stakeholder groups. The following conclusions were drawn: 1) The KE of HHRTS are grain crops, rice species biodiversity, terrace construction and maintenance technique, Hani traditional festivals, Hani traditional foods, and virgin forest; 2) The reasons behind the KE priorities of farmers, businessmen and tourists were at the micro level, the reasons of officers were at the middle level and the reasons of researchers were at the macro level. The empirical study conducted in HHRTS showed that the proposed conceptual framework could identify KE of IAHS effectively, and provided a theoretical perspective for the structuring of and essential need for IAHS research. Moreover, the KE recognition levels of different stakeholder groups reflected their potential action strategies. We should focus on the coherence of policies and measures in both the microscale and macroscale to balance the diversified demands of stakeholders, and to stimulate their enthusiasm for participation in the conservation in order to improve the management level of IAHS sites.

Based on the basic selection criteria of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) and food and livelihood security research trends, this paper established an evaluation framework and indicator system for food and livelihood security in GIAHS and selected the first GIAHS site in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as a case for empirical evaluation. The results demonstrate that the food and livelihood security of farmers at this site was at a medium level, with an average evaluation value of 2.91, which still lagged behind the level of better food and livelihood security. Specifically, the average values of farmers’ evaluation of food security and livelihood security were 1.43 and 1.48, respectively, which show that farmers’ food security in the study area was at a medium level and that of livelihood security was relatively good. Simultaneously, the more simple a farmers’ economic activities (i.e., agriculture-oriented economic activities or non-agriculture-oriented economic activities), the worse their food and livelihood security; while the more diversified the economic activities (i.e., engaged in part-time economic activities), the better the food and livelihood security.

Agricultural biodiversity has a high importance in social-cultural, economic, and environmental aspects, and can help in adapting to and withstanding climate change. Conserving the GIAHS sites and the important components within them can help conserve the agricultural biodiversity and traditional agricultural culture of the whole country. This study considered Ifugao Rice Terraces, Dong’s Rice-Fish-Duck System, and Hani Rice Terraces System as three examples which show that traditional culture can be used to protect agricultural biodiversity, while as a carrier of traditional culture, agricultural biodiversity also conveys and protects the traditional culture of the nation. According to the analyses, through several years of efforts, the status of agricultural biodiversity and traditional culture in them has improved. Then, to further promote agricultural biodiversity conservation and traditional culture protection, several suggestions are made, such as establishing community seed banks; documenting and preserving traditional farming methods, techniques, and tools and developing participatory activities which encourage more farmers to participate in the protection work.

Recent research has showed increasing interest at the vital role of irrigation ponds that plays at biodiversity conservation, and provides ecological functions at a wide range. However, many irrigation ponds were abolished due to the economic and societal transformation in the rural. In particular, small-scale ponds were abolished and rebuilt to other public uses based on the consensus building process among the community. At the same time, civil organizations also launched initiatives to conserve irrigation ponds for its ecological significance or landscape scenery. However, study pertinent to the small scale ponds in the rural setting is largely neglected. This research aims at revealing the current situation of the utilization and management of small irrigation ponds using a case study of Noto Island in Ishikawa Prefecture. It was found that irrigation ponds are still under the traditional co-management of rural community. The most important finding in this study is that the traditional management of pond water use largely contributes to mitigate the harvest loss from natural disasters such as drought in the face of extreme climate. However, irrigation ponds are facing the threat of degradation due to the sharp decrease of farm population and the existing large number of part time farmers. Therefore, the small scale irrigation ponds and pertinent management and water use allotment should be revalued for its functions at a wide range from the biological and ecological functions and human knowledge system to mitigate disaster threats.

In the context of climate change, research on extreme climates and disaster risk management has become a crucial component of climate change adaptation. Local communities, which have been facing extreme climates for a long time in their production and daily life, have developed some locally applicable traditional knowledge that has played an important role in their adaptation to extreme climate and disaster risk management. Therefore, this research aims to link Local knowledge (LK) to community extreme climate disaster risk management in order to construct a conceptual model. It then takes the extreme climate adaptation strategy of traditional nomads in a temperate grassland of China as an example to analyze the role of LK in extreme climate adaptation using the proposed theoretical framework. The main research objectives of this study are: (1) To construct a conceptual model to illustrate the relations among extreme climate events, risk management, LK, and farmers' adaptation strategies; (2) To apply the theoretical framework to a field case to reveal context-specific extreme climate adaptation mechanisms with LK as a critical component; (3) To test the framework and provide suggestions for the extreme climates adaptation, and the conservation of LK related to climate change adaptation. The results show that from the perspective of disaster risk management, local communities could manage extreme climates as a disaster risk through adaptation strategies formed from LK, because as a knowledge system, LK contains relevant knowledge covering the whole process of disaster risk management.

Wild edible plants (WEPs) can provide a variety of provisioning services and cultural services but they are currently under-utilized. Understanding farmers’ perceptions of the collection and consumption of wild edible plant resources is essential for promoting local socio-ecological system resilience and local wild plant resource use. This paper uses the Q-method to investigate the main perspectives of farmers toward collecting and consuming wild edible plants in the Honghe Hani Terraces region of Yunnan Province. This analysis identified four main perspective types among the farmers, including market-driven, household user-driven, cultural service seekers, and tradition followers. It revealed the main factors that limit and facilitate farmers’ WEP collection and consumption, including limitations due to loss of traditional knowledge, and changes in socioeconomic conditions that negatively affect WEP collection and consumption; while, on the other hand, the demand for WEP-related cultural services and the presence of a strong culture slowed down changes in dietary structure, which in turn have maintained WEP collection and consumption. The Q-method can help in identifying the relationship between community residents and local wild plant resource use in rapidly transitioning areas and in identifying the barriers that affect the resilience of local socio-ecological systems.

The Hani Rice Terraces System is one of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) sites which can successfully resist extreme droughts. The reason is not only that the forests and terraces have the important function of water conservation, which provide and conserve adequate water resources for this complex ecosystem, but also that Hani traditional ecological knowledge plays an important role in the drought-resistance process. In this paper, drought-resistant mechanisms of the Hani Rice Terraces System have been analyzed first, then Hani traditional ecological knowledge has been analyzed based on a comprehensive literature review, a questionnaire survey and key informant interviews. The results show that the Hani nationality has developed knowledge of water management techniques, including water conserving construction, water allocation and ditch management. The Hani people are also highly conscious of water resources protection. There is a good deal of forest resource management knowledge and worship of forests, which have effectively helped in protecting the forest ecological system. In the reclamation and maintenance of Hani terraced fields, the Hani people have developed a series of farming systems, which have effectively protected the terrace ecosystem. Through analyzing this knowledge of water management, forest resource management and Hani terraced fields management, our paper confirms the important role that traditional ecological knowledge plays in maintaining stability of the system and realizing the efficient use of water resource. This is not only helpful for preserving cultural heritage, but is vital for protecting the Hani Rice Terraces System as a whole.

Conservation-compatible development of rural communities is an important part of nature conservation objectives. Understanding the role of agriculture, which is often practiced in or bordering the protected areas in rural China, is critical for managing conservation networks considering that limited spatial areas are available for enclosed protected areas. Important Agricultural Heritage Systems stand out for their multi-functionality, and some of their values are compatible with nature conservation. This paper examined the concept, management objectives and resource management characteristics of the Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS) by analysing their interactions with national parks in terms of community development. The results reveal that management strategies of dynamic conservation, integrated protection and adaptive management of the IAHS can contribute to those national park management objectives concerning conservation-compatible livelihood. However, the typology of the protected area system, including the traditional agricultural system as a new type, needs further consideration.

Chagusaba, which is traditional tea-grass integrated system in Shizuoka, is one of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) sites in Japan. Chagusaba provide an important habitat for natural plant species. In this study, we investigated the flora in Chagusaba and environmental factors to affect the number of native species estimated their diversity. Fifty Chagusaba were classified in to five vegetation types by Two-way indicator species analysis. In addition, high number of native plant species Chagusaba had low soil pH, covered large areas, and were in places where the land had not been modified. Through statistical analysis (GLM), we found that land modification had an especially significant effect on the diversity of native plants, and that the diversity of native plants was reflected in the history of the use of the land.

Agri-cultural Heritage Systems (AHS) have not only various values but also important enlightening roles for modern agriculture. With agro-scientific and technological progress, the traditional agriculture that has lasted for thousands of years is declining gradually, thus is attached the importance of exploring and protecting our AHS. As a traditional agricultural system for 1300 years, the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces System (HHRTS) has many significant characteristics such as beautiful landscapes, distinctive rice varieties, ecologically clean agricultural production systems, systematic methods of managing water and soil and special ethnic culture. It was designated successively as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) in 2010 and as a World Heritage (WH) in 2013. In this paper, taking HHRTS as an example, we analyzed the economic, ecological, aesthetic, cultural, and social values, as well as the research values, of the GIAHS. We conclude that the restrictions on increasing peasant earnings and improving their living standards are difficult with the low efficiency of traditional planting patterns and the single-industry structure of farming in rugged terrain. However, these restrictive factors are beneficial for developing some industries like green agriculture, organic agriculture or ecological food production because of the clean farmland environment. In the end, we propose the basic approaches to protect the Hani terraces agriculture system should include the local governments to encourage the development of ecotourism, organic agriculture and featuring agriculture by multi-mode economic compensation. It is very important for protecting terraces to coordinate benefits among corporations, governments and villagers by making reasonable policies of compensation.

Qingyuan County, Zhejiang, China is recognized as a source of mushrooms around the world and as Mushroom City in China. Because of a favorable ecological environment and abundant forest resources, mushroom farmers in Qingyuan have engaged in mushroom production for 800 years and continued to form unique mushroom production systems where people and nature live in a harmonious way, and a rich and colorful mushroom culture. The Qingyuan Mushroom Culture System was named the Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage systems of China in 2014. Based on analysis of the importance of agricultural heritage and the necessity and urgency of protection, here we examine the agricultural heritage of the Qingyuan mushroom culture system as a research case study and comprehensively describe its heritage values, including supply materials and production, ecosystem services, cultural inheritance and multi-function agricultural development. These results provide reference values for agricultural heritage protection and inheritance of edible fungi in China, agricultural sustainable development and extension of agricultural function.

As one kind of land use practice, traditional agroforestry systems already have a long history of hundreds of years in practice and still play a significant role in the world today, especially in tropical and subtropical areas. In this era of globalization and food in security, more and more governments and non-governmental organizations are paying attention to traditional agroforestry systems because of their economic, ecological and socio-culture benefits. These benefits are also in accord with the characteristics of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). So far, four typical traditional agroforestry systems from five countries have been designated as GIAHS. These traditional agroforestry systems have rich agricultural and associated biodiversity, multiple ecosystem services and precious socio-culture values at a regional and global level. Although traditional agroforestry systems are confronted with many threats and challenges, such as population growth, migration, market impact, climate change and so on, as long as governments and non-governmental organizations, local communities and smallholders can cooperate with each other, traditional agroforestry systems will be effectively protected and will remain in the future a sustainable global land use practice.

Xinghua Duotian Agrosystem is a raised field agriculture system with typical water-land utilization. It was identified as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) site by FAO in April 2014. Based on a literature review and field investigations, we analyzed the history and development, structure and characteristics, functions and values of the Xinghua Duotian Agrosystem in this research. The system has a long history, rich biodiversity, important ecosystem services, traditional adapted agricultural technologies and a folk culture. Altogether, these features form an attractive landscape created by its special water-land utilization. It also has great importance for the livelihood maintenance of the local people. However, the inheritance and conservation effort of Xinghua Duotian Agrosystem is facing great threats from modern agriculture, urbanization and labor loss. This paper will provide insight into the Xinghua Duotian Agrosystem, and provide scientific support for the conservation and development of this special system. It will also provide a good example for similar areas in China and worldwide.

This paper looks at the agricultural heritage potential of the tameike reservoirs in Japan,through a case study of the Kunisaki Peninsula,which was recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System(GIAHS)in May,2013.The "tameike" in this area are small scale ponds storing spring water or water flowing through the short and rapid rivers of the area.Tameike construction in Kunisaki is found to be closely associated with the spread of wet rice cultivation and forestry.Most existing reservoirs were built during the Edo Period(1603-1867),and were managed through traditional farming knowhow till the postwar period.However,rapid decline in the use and ecosystem functions of these reservoirs ensued from the years of economic development,and at present,total number of these reservoirs has fallen to nearly one-third,compared to the pre-Meiji time.The GIAHS initiative is trying to reevaluate the ecosystem functions and knowledge systems associated with these reservoirs and link them to rural revitalization efforts.This article is based on both literature survey and field based research with regional coordinators,and comes to the conclusion that proper management of these reservoirs can successfully reinvigorate a culture of resource circulation,that defined the agri-heritage of Kunisaki area in historical times.

Anxi is the largest producing area of Tie Guanyin tea in China. "The cultural system of Tie Guanyin tea in Anxi" was selected as "Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems" (China-NIAHS) in 2014. Tea gardens in this region are organic, ecological or non-ecological. After sampling the soil in these three kinds of tea gardens, we compared soil properties and nutrient content at different soil depths using physical and chemical analyses. Our aim was to provide a scientific basis for the management of tea plantations. We measured and analyzed soil in two organic, three ecological and one non-ecological tea gardens at depths of 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm in Anxi County. According to Duncan multiple comparisons and t tests, soil nutrients differed between organic and ecological or non-ecological tea gardens at 0-10 cm. Organic matter and total nitrogen differed between organic and nonecological tea garden soils at 10-20 cm. In organic tea gardens, soil bulk density, porosity, relative water content, soil organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus were advantageous for tea tree growth. In ecological tea gardens, the indicators were appropriate and relatively advantageous for tea tree growth at a soil depth of 0-10 cm. For non-ecological tea garden, the nutrients were at a compact level and negatively affect tea growth. These results show that soil properties and nutrient content in organic and ecological tea gardens are superior to non-ecological tea garden. The development of organic tea gardens is the most suitable strategy for the growth of tea trees.

Hani rice terraces system is one of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) pilot sites selected by FAO. Soil nutrients are an important symbol of soil fertility, and play an important role in the sustainable utilization of land. Based on geo-statistics and GIS, the spatial variation of pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, alkaline hydrolyzable nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium in the soil in Yisa (a town in Honghe County, Yunnan Province) was studied. The results show that the spatial variability of pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, alkaline hydrolyzable nitrogen and available potassium exhibited medium spatial variability, and the coefficients of variation are 12.54%, 40.14%, 40.00%, 34.89%, and 40.00% respectively. Available phosphorus exhibited strong spatial variability, and the coefficient of variation is 102.13%. The spatial variation of pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, alkaline hydrolyzable nitrogen and available potassium fit the index mode, however, the spatial variation of available phosphorus fits the spherical model. Total nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium were greatly affected by soil structural factors, while pH, organic matter and alkaline hydrolyzable nitrogen were affected by both structural and random factors. The spatial distribution of soil nutrients in Yisa was intuitively characterized by Kriging interpolation. It is very important to understand the spatial distribution of soil nutrients, which will provide the guidance for adjusting agricultural management measures such as fertilization.

Grand Pré,Nova Scotia,an outstanding example of a traditional land-use that is representative of human interaction with a distinctive environment,has been presented for UNESCO World Heritage Site(WHS)designation.One of Canada's most fertile agricultural landscapes,it is also an iconic memorial site for a people who overcame a tragedy of forced migration-the Acadian Deportation-in 1755,which has since become the lure for significant numbers of tourists to the region.Now facing a double threat of agriculture change and tourism decline,Grand Préhas high expectations from its recent WHS designation (2012)and the perceived tourism that it will bring.This concept paper discusses Grand Préas a globally important agriculture heritage system and,in light of previous research,questions its expectations of WHS designation as a conduit for future economic viability and sustainability in the region.

The active utilization and inheritance of agricultural heritage cannot be separated from the support of relevant government policies. This study combined the bibliometric method and content analysis method to analyze the agricultural heritage protection and development policies based on the government’s 410 agricultural heritage official documents and constructed a six-dimensional analysis framework of document release form, release subject, release quantity, document relevance, document type, and document content. The results show that the form and subject of document release are diversified; the number of documents released has an approximate inverted “U”-type characteristic; the number of documents formulated specifically for agricultural heritage is relatively small (21.46%); and information documents and guidance documents are more favored by the government than incentive documents. The discussion of the document content demonstrates that the excavation and application of agricultural heritage are worthy of further improvement; the economic value is widely used in the multifunctional utilization of agricultural heritage; and farmers, enterprises, scientific research institutions, and governments are all crucial participants in the management of agricultural heritage. Some problems remain in the government’s management of agricultural heritage, such as producing too few targeted documents and the insufficient coverage of the documents that have been produced thus far.

The traditional tea-grass integrated system in Shizuoka is the first example of a Globally Important Agriculture Heritage Systems (GIAHS) site in Japan that was proposed by a local government. In this paper, we report the background and circumstances leading to the recognition of this system, its registration as a GIAHS, and its current use after registration. Although semi-natural grasslands have decreased considerably in Japan, we found unique semi-natural grasslands with no pest insects and a rich biodiversity around the tea fields. These grasslands and the farming method employed are known as “Chagusaba”, which was registered as a GIAHS in 2013. However, the registration process for GIAHS was not easy, as many local farmers do not understand the value of their traditional farming methods or the GIAHS honor. After registering Chagusaba as a GIAHS, our main agenda was branding. Traditional farming, with time and effort, produces high-quality tea. As labor saving technologies in agriculture have progressed in Japan, the price of high-quality tea has declined, and consequently, the numbers of farmers performing the inefficient traditional farming methods are decreasing. It is necessary to correctly brand the Chagusaba-grown tea and reflect the value of the traditional farming method in the price. The local government of the Shizuoka Prefecture is currently working on implementing a certification system, which includes scientific evaluation using GPS, and the introduction of biodiversity indicators.

Zhejiang Province, located in the Yangtze River Delta region, is representative of China's economically developed areas. It enjoys superior natural conditions and a long history of agriculture, and is a comprehensive agricultural area with integrated development of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery. It has nurtured the farming culture represented by Hemudu culture and Liangzhu culture, which have given rise to numerous precious Agricultural Heritage Systems. At present, Zhejiang Province has three of the world’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) and 12 China Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (China-NIAHS), so it not only has the largest number of heritages in China, but it has also attained remarkable achievements in heritage conservation. Taking Zhejiang Province as an example in combination with the rural revitalization strategy, this paper summarizes the achievements in the protection of Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS) in Zhejiang Province during the past 15 years from the aspects of increasing farmers’ income, cultural Inheritance and industrial upgrading, as well as the conservation experiences in government promotion, community initiative, enterprise participation, technology driving and social linkage. Further, in view of the problems that exist in the current heritage protection,such as imperfect management of heritage sites, low participation of community residents, lack of special protection funds, and imperfect provincial management system,the following countermeasures and suggestions are put forward: (1) Improve the management mechanism for the conservation and development of Agricultural Heritage Systems; (2) Develop regional public branding of agricultural products in Agricultural Heritage System sites; (3) Increase the Agricultural Heritage System science education as well as cultural and creative product development; (4) Carry out the evaluation and recognition of IAHS at the provincial level; and (5) Provide substantial support and input to the conservation and utilization of IAHS. This study can provide some guidance for the conservation of IAHS in Zhejiang Province and it provides important reference for IAHS in the economically developed areas in China.

With Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) increasing in number around the world, their conservation has become a new international research theme. From the perspective of combining theoretical analyses and practical case applications, this study examines the Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS) conservation pathways and operation mechanisms through industrial integration development (IID). First, the theoretical framework of IID in IAHS sites was constructed according to the requirements of IAHS conservation, which include analyses of the connotation and basic principles of IID, the necessity of IID for IAHS sites, the resource conditions, and the IID pathways. And then based on the theoretical framework, the IID of Longji Terraces in Guangxi, Honghe Hani Rice Terraces System in Yunnan (HHRTS), Aohan Dryland Farming System in Inner Mongolia (ADFS), and Huzhou Mulberry-dyke & Fish-pond System (HMFS) in Zhejiang are analyzed systematically. The main finding is that IID is an effective pathway for IAHS conservation. However, the IID in IAHS sites must stress the ecological and cultural values of the resources; IID should be based on local resource advantages; and IID should attach importance to the combination of different policies and coordination between different stakeholders.